5 ideas for stand-alone Star Wars films
By Barlow Adams
The Good, the Bad, and the Unscrupulous.
Zam Wessel. Dengar. IG-88. Jango and Boba Fett. Bossk. Cad Bane.
Apart from the Jedi–and their ignoble counterparts, the Sith–no group in the Star Wars mythos conjures more fan interest and name recognition than the franchise’s long list of imposing, larger-than-life bounty hunters.
If Star Wars is looking for guaranteed excitement from a base that seems reluctant to move away from what has thus far proven to be a very safe thing in the laser-sword fights and fantastic space magic of the Jedi, a film centered around bounty hunters would be an excellent place to start.
With enough fame and familiarity to headline a film without much marketing (not that Star Wars lacks or needs big advertising) these famous mercenaries are almost begging to be featured in a collaborative outlaw flick–something along the lines of The Seven Samurai or The Magnificent Seven.
The motley crew of bandits would do well in full-fledged space western, featuring a storyline that explored the delineations in their gray alignments. Something quiet and gritty in spots, with the edge of nihilism placed against the throat of hope, balanced out by epic gunfights, bragging devastating weapons and off-kilter characters: basically, the Mos Eisley Cantina stretched into a two-hour movie, but with more blood and more character development.
Some fans have been rumbling of late for an R-rated Star Wars adventure, and while this one might not get quite there (I have one later that will), it checks a lot of boxes.
A Star Wars: Bounty Hunters movie would have the benefit of quasi-familiar characters explored in an original way, but would succeed in moving the needle away from the same tried-and-true heroes we’re accustomed to. Offering something different than the same sort of underdog, rebel tale we’re used to.
It’s been done, of course, to some degree–in anime, and, to a certain extent, onThe Clone Wars animated series–but never on this scale, and never with the full power of the Star Wars machine behind it. A big-budget Star Wars Western? What’s not to love?